Racial wounds still open in U.S.

Published 4:12 pm, Thursday, August 1, 2013

The George Zimmerman trial has exposed racial wounds that haven't healed in the United States. The racial divide between blacks and whites is most visible. For many blacks, "inalienable rights" are just nice words on a document.

To be certain, the framers of our Constitution did not fully include blacks under its protections. One can't suppress a population for 350 years without backlash. Validation of the enslavement and the great harm caused by it needs to be acknowledged

And sincere measures have to be enacted to provide meaningful and permanent solutions. Without these, nothing but heartache, bitterness, resentment and strife will be this nation's lot.

In the black communities, hope has to replace disillusionment, pessimism and cynicism. We all must be a positive part of this endeavor. Failure cannot be an option.